WordPress core automatically generates a basic XML sitemap at yourdomain.com/wp-sitemap.xml starting from version 5.5 released in August 2020. This is a native feature that requires no plugin and includes posts, pages, categories, and tags by default. You can access it directly by typing that URL into your browser. If you're using an SEO plugin like Yoast SEO, Rank Math, or All in One SEO, the location changes. Yoast typically creates sitemap_index.xml at yourdomain.com/sitemap_index.xml, which then links to separate sitemaps for posts, pages, and taxonomies. Rank Math uses yourdomain.com/sitemap_index.xml as well. The SEO plugin sitemaps override the default WordPress core sitemap and offer more control over what's included, exclusion rules, and last-modified dates. To find your active sitemap, check your robots.txt file at yourdomain.com/robots.txt. Most SEO plugins automatically add a sitemap reference there. You can also log into your SEO plugin settings and look for the XML Sitemap section, which will show the exact URL and let you view or download it. One common mistake we see with Ottawa clients is having multiple sitemaps active simultaneously. The WordPress core sitemap and a plugin sitemap can both exist, which confuses Google Search Console when you submit them. If you're using an SEO plugin, confirm it disables the core sitemap to avoid duplicate indexing signals. For multisite WordPress installations, each subsite gets its own sitemap at subsite.yourdomain.com/sitemap.xml or yourdomain.com/subsite/sitemap.xml depending on your subdomain or subdirectory setup. Network-wide sitemap plugins exist but are rarely necessary unless you're running a large content network. At Ottawa SEO, we typically use Rank Math or Yoast for client sites because the default WordPress sitemap lacks granular control. You can't exclude specific posts, set crawl priorities, or split large sitemaps into manageable chunks. For a 500-page site, that's usually fine. For enterprise WordPress installs with 50,000+ URLs, you need a plugin with sitemap splitting and conditional logic.